IT'S the diamante-encrusted eyelashes that give the game away. A luscious ladyboy releases a squeal as she spills my lychee martini just as it hits the table at XANA beach club.

``No worries,'' I say in Thai, relying on the surprisingly reliable and only Thai phrase I know. ``Love you long time,'' I add in English, for extra effect, worrying at the same time that I'm becoming overly familiar.

She squeals again. ``That's what I say to my boyfriend.''

Think Phuket, think Patong? Think again. Looking for a Phuket experience where there's not a Singha singlet in sight but where you can still enjoy the colour and characters?

Then head to Laguna Phuket, the new posh precinct built around the lagoon, away from the madding crowds. Laguna is to Phuket what

Denarau is to Fiji, Soho to London and Greenwich to New York.

But it hasn't always been like this. Many visitors to the Thai island fail to realise that Phuket was once a humble tin-mining town and the lagoon itself is the former mine filled with water.

And that's not the only change. So burgeoning is the new beach club scene here around Bang Tao and Surin beaches, that some are beginning to refer to this area as Thailand's Ibiza. And by the end of the year, several more clubs are due to open. So head there before the crowds.

WHERE TO PLAY

XANA with Attica is one of the largest and edgiest beach clubs in the area, right on Bang Tao Beach. With its 35m pool, private cabanas, poolside day beds and in-pool lounges, this is the place to be seen. Respected DJs have all played here to the bold and beautiful.

The pool bar at Xana Beach Club. Picture: Supplied.Source: Supplied

Bliss Beach Club Phuket is a wooden-decked, Italian/Thai-influenced restaurant-cum-beach club that's ideal for a Sunday session with its resident DJ. Also along Bang Tao Beach, there are plush day beds, sofas and lounge chairsor you can host your own function in a private room. Families and kids are welcome here with a pool and play area, while yachties are encouraged to drop anchor, shower and grab a cocktail.

Perched next door to Catch, along Surin Beach's northern end, Diamond Beach Club describes itself as ``affordable luxury'' where DJs indulge in ``elegant, melodic'' remixes rather than the monotonous sound of doof, doof. Yes, we're talking everything from Studio 54 here. There are six separate areas in which to wine and dine, including 130 luxury sun beds and eight private double beach cabanas.

Further along at Kata Beach, on the other side of Patong, Re Ka Ta is an interesting blend of beach club, restaurant, bar and spa, with boutique and cafe. Visitors can enjoy an island bar, swimming pool, pool deck, and sun chairs. And it boasts pole position in a cosy and chic corner, away from Kata's crazy crowds.

For secluded sophistication, the Banyan Tree Spa Sanctuary's 135 luxury villas are set on acreage that stretches languidly along Bang Tao Bay. Guests can take a traditional Thai long-tail boat called the Sanya Rak or ``The Promise of Love'' for a private romantic dinner. Under the Dinner of the Senses option, guests dine under the stars on a special floating platform in the middle of the lagoon, while Dinner of the Spirit serves dinner under a banyan tree to the sounds of traditional Thai music.

Outrigger Laguna Phuket Beach Resort is a 255-room resort on Bang Tao Beach that blends Thai contemporary-style architecture with a smattering of Chinese tiles in the foyer and a real beach holiday feel -- you can hear the ocean from your bed. A highlight of a stay here meeting two-year-old elephant Candy that little kids can ride. Big and little kids will love the pool's waterslide -- one of the longest in Phuket.

The 404 Angsana Laguna Phuket sits between Banyan Tee and Outrigger, in location and style. It boasts a funky, almost nightclub feel with its cool colour scheme of purple and white. There are seven bars and restaurants here, and like Outrigger, a daily highlight is a visit from an older elephant, Lucky, who also visits the Banyan Tree, and walks through the Marketplace Restaurant at breakfast to meet guests.

The writer was a guest of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, the Banyan Tree and Laguna Phuket

A NOTE ABOUT RELEVANT ADVERTISING: We collect information about the content (including ads) you use across this site and use it to make both advertising and content more relevant to you on our network and other sites.